Issue Contents

Jan-Feb 2007: Where Are They Now?

Cover Story:

Where Are They Now?

by Maggie Koerth-Baker
Acid rain, Bubble Boy, Barbie's boy toy, the Concorde-there's enough material here for Billy Joel to write at least three sequels to "We Didn't Start the Fire." In this special report, Maggie Koerth-Baker time-machines her way into history to find out why everything old (like New Math) is new again-or if not new, at least interesting.

Features:

13 Photographs That Changed The World

By Ransom Riggs
Smile and say the name of a processed dairy product! Actually, don't, because the 13 photos Ransom Riggs has selected are anything but cheesy. They're images powerful enough to end wars, change government policies, and frame some of history's most famous figures in completely new ways. Not to mention "the photograph that allowed geniuses to have a sense of humor," which pretty much paved the way for this entire magazine.

Hail To The Thieves! Famous Heists We Love

By John Brandon
There are bad guys, and then there are the so-bad-they're-good guys. They're the ones who not only make off with wads of cash and jewels, but do it with so much panache you nearly forget it's wrong to, y'know, steal stuff. Common thieves? Not at all. Read on as John Brandon gives us the lowdown on four sticky-fingered gangs, plus one not-so-smooth criminal whose half-eaten sandwich turned into a smoking gun.

scatter_brained:

Medicine

By Jeff Fleischer, John Green, Tim Millington & Greg Veis
At first, it was just a dry cough and some sniffles. Then our writers started complaining of a fever. Finally, as their deadline approached, they hit full-on hypochondriac mode, wandering around the office in bunny slippers and bathrobes, holding ice packs to their foreheads, and reading up on how to cure all their ailments. And man, did they pick up a lot! From strange house calls and crazy exercise fads to some of the grossest anatomy we've ever seen, this Scatterbrained is just what the doctor ordered.

right_brain:

Mies van der Rohe's Seagram Building

By Eric Furman

left_brain:

Mad Scientist of the Month:

Ray Kurzweil

By Maggie Koerth-Baker
This legendary scientist has rubbed elbows with presidents, built instruments for rock stars, invented reading devices for the blind, and even inspired major motion pictures. So when Kurzweil says he plans to live forever, it's actually kind of believable. Turn to page 28 and see how he plans to do it.

spinning_the globe:

50-Cent Tour:

Nigeria

Crude Awakenings: How one African author took on shell oil (and changed the face of nigerian politics)

By Ransom Riggs

Culture of Corruption

By Maggie Koerth-Baker Greasing palms doesn't often figure into the American way of life (mobsters and politicians aside), but in Nigeria, it's ingrained into the system. From bribing officials to get your mail delivered on time to forking over extra dough for a measly phone line, Nigeria can't seem to escape corruption. That is, until now. Check out how one politician is helping give graft the shaft.